Characteristics of Islamic Civilization

 MUHAMMAD ASIM  OCTOBER 05, 2017  ISLAMIC STUDY

Every civilization like a human being has to stand upon two very things; Soul and the body. 
In civilization the material welfare, economy, industry and scientific achievements can be
categorized as the body of that civilization. Whereas the set of concepts, ideologies and ideas
form the other component of this combination and that component is called the soul of a
civilization. Now if we look at the Islamic civilization, the material welfare attained by the
Muslims during the Rashidun Caliphate and early Muslim Empires can be called as the body
of the Islamic Civilization and on the other hand, the spiritual and moral teachings of Islamic
religion can be categorized as the sole of this entity.
Now we discuss some of the basic characteristics that define the Islamic Civilization.
Tawheed
Tauheed forms the very core distinction of the Islamic Civilization from other civilizations.
Its concept of oneness of God lifts human beings from degraded status they had experienced
during earlier civilizations. If we look back into the history, the common human beings were
mostly considered slaves due to the alteration of teachings of earlier scriptures or due to the
influence of royal families. Islam totally destroys the concept of slavery on the basis of
religion or royalty and takes humans to a plane of moral enlightenment.

Islam has given so much importance to this concept that it says that Allah will forgive any sin
except Shirk or Polytheism.
Self-Purification

The other main character of the Islamic Civilization is self-purification or Tazkiyah Nafs.
This concept clearly states that the purpose of a human should be to purify its soul or inner-
self before asking anyone to follow the teachings of this true religion. Once the Holy Prophet
Muhammad (s.a.w) was returning from Jihad with his companions, he said to them that we
are returning from a smaller form of Jihad to a bigger form of Jihad- Tazkiyah Nafs. The
Holy Prophet (s.a.w) once said,” I was appointed for the prophethood so that I may
accomplish the important task of Human perfection”.
Dignity of man
The center of attention of the Islam is human and human life. All human beings are equally
dignified as per the rules set by Allah in the Quran but some people have been given better
stature due to their commitment to the message of Allah and to the welfare of the fellow
humans. Once a companion of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) was standing in front of
the Kabba and was saying that the Prophet once said that,"indeed Kabba! You have a great
sanctity but the sanctity of a human being is greater than your sanctity".

Equality
A very important element of the Islamic civilization is the equality or equity. In Islam,
everyone is equal in the eyes of Allah as a human being but it also distinguishes bad deeds
from good ones.  In Islamic teachings, the element that makes a human superior to other is
piety or Taqwa. In his last address, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said that an Arab
has no superiority over a non-Arab and non-Arab has no superiority over an Arab; a white
has no superiority over a black and a black has no superiority over a white except by piety
alone.
When Makkah was conquered by the Muslim Army under the leadership of Hazrat
Muhammad (s.a.w).  He ordered a  black slave from Africa to ascend the roof of Kabba and
say Adhan. This was a unique experience in the history of the world when all were standing
below and listening to a black African saying Adhan from the rooftop of Kabba.

Social justice
One of the main element of the Islamic civilization and the chief driving force for the
development of society both in material and spiritual terms is Social Justice. In Quran and in
the sayings of the Prophet it has clearly been mentioned that every of Muslim should abide by
the rules of social justice. In Quran, Allah (SWT) says, “ No doubt, Allah (SWT) commands
you to deposit trusts to whom they belong and when you judge, judge with justice” (Surah
Nisa). Islamic teachings had laid a complete model of how to attain social justice in a society.
It has ordered its followers to give Zakat to the poor and needy of the society. Islam also
designates some specific proportions of wealth that should be given to a person’s heirs when
the appropriate time reaches.
Moral values 
Some people claim Islamic as only the religion of prayers and rituals but is not the case
clearly. One of the main topics of Islamic civilization is how to reach a higher level of
morality. Islamic teachings are a clear manifestation of the fact that Islam attaches high
importance to the moral values that distinguish good from the bad and vice versa.

Some of the moral values that I mention here are patience, truthfulness, truthness to the
promise and abstaining from backbiting and from using bad language. Allah says in the
Quran,” Indeed, Allah is with the patient”. (Surah Baqara).Regarding truthfulness, God says
in the Quran,” Talk straight and with Truthfulness” (Surah Ahzab). Similarly, Quran gives
instructions to follow morality in every walk of life.
Tolerance
One of the most important teachings of the Prophet of Islam was tolerance as displayed
practically by him during his life. There is a famous story of a Jewish woman who used to
throw garbage on the Prophet’s clothes when he would go to pray. The Prophet though
experienced this situation almost daily but with tolerance and moral courage. When one day
the woman, became ill the Prophet himself visited the woman. This clearly shows that how
much tolerance the Prophet of Islam displayed during his life.

Quran also tells us to be tolerant and in the Surah Baqara, it says that Allah is with those who
are patient. The exemplary tolerance showed by the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) during his
social boycott and during the victory of Makkah are some glaring examples of the level of
tolerance he had.
Rule of Law
Islamic stresses highly on the rule of law in every field of life.  The Quran and sayings of the
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) are clearly the manifestations of those teachings. There is a
famous story of a woman from an influential tribe who had stolen something. When the case
was brought to the holy prophet (s.a.w) and Hazrat Usama wanted to save her from the
punishment. The Holy Prophet replied that nation before you were destroyed because in them
if any influential would do bad deed he would have been spared and if a poor would do the
same thing he would have been punished. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) then ordered
the same very punishment for that woman.
Once a person stole the armor of the fourth CALIPH OF Islam, Ali (r.a). The Caliph went
into the court against him and presented his son and his slave as the people who argued in
favor of him. The court rejected the testimony on the basis that both of them have close
relationship with the caliph and the armor was given to that person.This is the level of rule of
law in Islam.